The deleterious effects of oxygen in incandescent lamps is well known. To counteract these deleterious effects it also has long been known to include within such lamps an oxygen getter; i.e., a material which will preferentially combine with any free oxygen in the lamp.
Among usable getter materials for lamps, the benefits of phosphorous are well known, and many techniques and compounds have been employed in attempts to incorporate phosphorous into electric lamps.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,072 suggests the use of triphosphorous penta-nitride (P.sub.3 N.sub.5) in solid or slurry forms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,808 suggests the use of phosphorthionitride (PNS) which is to be mixed with a hydrocarbon solvent such as toluene. The mixture is applied to the filament or the supports therefor as a coating.
These methods require additional steps to include the phosphorous within the lamp and add to the cost thereof.
It would be a decided advance in the art to provide an improved system for incorporating a getter within a lamp.